BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Hispanics in the United
States did not end 2020 with an optimistic view of their
financial situations, even as new COVID-19 vaccines are expected to
help the nation recover from the devastating effects of the
pandemic.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Hispanic Consumer Sentiment
Index fell to 79.3, about six points shy of the third quarter mark,
according to the Florida Atlantic
University Business and Economics Polling
Initiative (FAU BEPI) in FAU's College of Business.
The fourth quarter number, while about the same as the general
population's consumer confidence sentiment published by the
University of Michigan, is nearly 22
points lower than it was a year ago before the start of the
pandemic.
"Hispanics may be less optimistic due to the fact that the
Latino unemployment rate is higher than the overall unemployment
rate in the United States,"
said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D.,
director of FAU BEPI.
The fourth quarter poll found that 47 percent of Hispanics said
they are better off financially today than a year ago, compared to
57 percent who felt that way during the third quarter. In addition,
62 percent of respondents said they expect to be better off
financially in the next year, while 69 percent of respondents felt
that way in the third quarter.
The latest survey also revealed that fewer respondents feel it
is a good time to buy big-ticket items, while more respondents
believe the cost of living has gone up.
Still, Hispanics appear confident in the long-run economic
outlook, with 66 percent saying they expect it to be good in the
next five years. That's up nine points from the third quarter.
The poll is based on a sampling of 617 Hispanics, 18 years of
age and older, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31,
2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.95 percentage points. The
survey was administered using both landlines via IVR data
collection and online data collection using Dynata. Responses for
the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national
distribution of the Hispanic population by region, education,
gender, age and income, according to latest American Community
Survey data. The polling results and full cross-tabulations
can be viewed at www.business.fau.edu/BEPI.
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SOURCE Florida Atlantic University
Business and Economics Polling Initiative